High School

The closest distance from the Earth to Saturn is [tex]1.43 \times 10^{12} \text{ m}[/tex] (around 1 billion miles). How long does it take light to travel from Saturn to the Earth?

A. Approximately 1 hour
B. Approximately 79 minutes
C. Approximately 14 minutes
D. Approximately 80 minutes

Answer :

Final answer:

To calculate the time it takes for light to travel from Saturn to Earth, we divide the distance of 1.43 × 10^{12} m by the speed of light. The result is approximately 79.45 minutes, which means the correct answer is b) Approximately 79 minutes.

Explanation:

The question is asking how long it takes light to travel the shortest distance from Saturn to the Earth, which is given as 1.43 × 10^{12} meters. We can calculate the time it takes for light to cover this distance by using the speed of light, which is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second, or 299,792,000 meters per second in SI units. To find the time in seconds, we divide the distance by the speed.

The calculation is as follows:

Time (seconds) = rac{Distance (meters)}{Speed of light (meters/second)} = rac{1.43× 10^{12}}{299,792,000} \
Time (seconds) = 4766.72 \
Time (minutes) = rac{4766.72}{60} = 79.45

Therefore, the correct answer is b) Approximately 79 minutes.